Swinging Sixties
by addledwalrus
Summary: A roughly chronological set of ficlets about events of the 1960s, as they might have happened in Hetalia. Current chapter: Wall
1. Meeting

**Author's Note: And so begins the first chapter of this sequel to 'Fabulous Fifties'. It will be a slow start and the structure of this one will be a lot different. Unlike with the previous story, I'll try my best to keep the chapters in chronological order.  
**

**I've referenced a few historical events below, so see if you can pick them all up.**

* * *

A hundred or so nations took their seats in the conference room and a head count soon demonstrated how substantially they had all grown in number since the previous year.

The first subject of that meeting in 1960 concerned the newest members of the United Nations, whom were each made to officially introduce themselves before giving short speeches to unenthusiastic applause.

France in particular, eyed Cameroon wistfully as the latter spoke of his recently acquired independence. An offhand comment about the Congo was made, which made Belgium grow unusually frigid.

After that formality was over and done with, it became time for selected nations to take turns speaking about important issues.

America, like the eager youngster he was, insisted on going first until the others couldn't stand it any longer and allowed him to have his way. He excitedly began by spouting out news about his local football teams, before England exasperatedly urged him to jump to the relevant parts.

Switzerland's speech about a particle accelerator sounded oddly like a threat to many and by the time he was back in his seat, his neighbours were afraid to look him in the eyes.

Egypt spoke quietly about constructing a Dam near the Nile, of which only a few paid full attention.

As the meeting wore on, most of the nations' thoughts drifted to other places and it was evident that they were no longer listening to everything being said.

The former Allies soon realized this and decided to announce a break, which had the odd effect of instantly raising everybody's alertness.


	2. Blue Jerboa

"The test has been a success. At 70 kilotons, it has put the American bomb to shame." The messenger had reported, their own voice filled with disbelief at what they were saying.

France didn't know what to make of the new power in his hands and the fact that he was now on par with the Soviet Union, the United States and United Kingdom in terms of nuclear power.

He felt energetic and dare he say it, important once again after a few decades of military defeats and overall shame. Despite his best efforts in the Second World War, in the end he was no British Empire or Soviet Union, choosing to outwardly surrender to Germany and going for a quieter form of resistance.

But at the same time, he found himself feeling fearful of what he would soon be capable of. Fighting had tired him out over the centuries and he could hardly motivate himself to participate in it wholeheartedly.

The was a war of independence currently going on in Algeria and he knew he would soon lose yet another former colony.

Gerboise Bleue, as the nuclear test was called, had been conducted in the Algerian desert and France wondered how it was affecting Algeria themselves at the moment.

* * *

**Gerboise Bleue ('Blue Jerboa' in English) was the first French nuclear test bomb detonated on 13 February 1960 in the Sahara desert during the Algerian War.  
**

**It was met with much criticism and further tests were conducted underground as a result.**


	3. The King Returns

America was sitting down in one of his favourite malt shops, enjoying a cool glass of lemonade and not really paying attention to the customers around him. He had come to this place in particular, to put himself at ease after hearing discussions between politicians about events in Vietnam, wherever that was.

He didn't feel like getting involved in yet another country's business, but he had a hunch that once the time came, he'd have little choice but to follow his boss' wishes. It was an unfortunate feeling, as he thought of the Korean War and the fact that most seemed to have forgotten it ever happened.

A pair of vaguely familiar young women entered the malt shop, the two of them also ordering glasses of soda before occupying the seats right next to America. They began to chat while waiting for their drinks to be served, their conversation soon taking a surprising turn.

"Did you hear that Elvis just got discharged from the military?"

"Discharged? No way! It seems like he's been away forever..."

"Same here. I met a kid who didn't even know who he was!"

America stared down at his half filled glass and tried to pretend he hadn't heard anything, despite his urge to turn around and interrupt the two women. A couple of years was hardly a long time from his perspective, after all.

"I wonder if he'll be releasing some new songs soon? I can't wait to see..."

"Nah, I don't think so. He needs some time to recover after all that activity."

* * *

**Elvis Presley was discharged from the army on March 5 1960, after serving in the military for two years. He took a break from his musical career afterwards to instead focus on acting in movies. By the time he was about to make his comeback in 1968, he was apparently seen as being a joke by many critics. **


	4. Resignation

**This will be the first of a few longer chapters in this story. If this makes the pacing feel uneven, you can let me know in a review.**

* * *

A crowd of university students marched along, carrying signs and continuing to protest despite the mounting action being taken against them.

Yong Soo had stumbled upon this sight and not wishing to be in anyone's path, had taken to watching from behind a parked car.

He figured that he would learn what the issue was if he stayed long enough, then hopefully he would be able to report it to his boss and something could be done about it. It was a simple idea and he was eager to do good for his citizens, even if they tended to treat him as an annoyance due to his childlike appearance.

A hand pressed firmly against his shoulder and he jolted in shock, before turning around to see the owner.

The large man crouched down to stare straight at Yong Soo and grabbed hold of his other shoulder as well. Yong Soo felt his thoughts jumble as he feared what the man would do to him.

"Stupid boy, this is no place for children! Get out of here! Now!" The man yelled, shaking him slightly as if to further drive home his point, then letting go and shoving him away forcefully.

Yong Soo stumbled and quickly glanced back at the man before he sprinted for a safer part of town.

Apart from been lectured later by his boss for wandering around without permission, the rest of the day passed normal enough.

* * *

Mid morning the following day, Yong Soo was led without explanation by a guard to a small room with a table in the centre. The guard impatiently told him to sit at the table and threw a book down in front of him, before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

The sound of a key turning, followed by a click let Yong Soo know that he was now locked up by himself, for whatever reason. He got out of his chair and ran to the closed door, banging his fists against it and demanding to be let out.

Several moments went by without a single response and he resigned himself to his situation, trudging back to sit at the table and opening the book so he could read.

It was while he was reading a pleasant story about a tiger and an elephant, that he heard the muffled sounds of screaming and gunfire outside. He dropped his book and quietly slid out of his chair to creep towards the wall.

He drew back the curtain to look out of the one window in the room and saw a huge wall of people gathered around in the distance, as well as what he thought were flashes of red.

The sound of gunfire became obvious again and it didn't take long for him to put everything together. He stepped backwards without realizing and almost fell on to the floor, as he was reminded of the less favourable moments in his past. Only this time, he couldn't understand why some of his people were doing this.

He tried to calm himself down by singing a children's song, but fear and a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him and he began to cry.

* * *

It was over the next few days that he learned what had been going on his capital and why so many had been demonstrating. As he looked at the stress visible in his boss' face, he realized that he no longer felt any sense of ease when around the man.

A week after the incident, Mr Rhee came to see him for what he said would be the last time as he had already resigned. He attempted to explain his actions in the hope of receiving some understanding.

Yong Soo did not say a word in response and his boss gave up, leaving him alone for good so he could go outside to the car where his wife was waiting.

* * *

**Notes (sorry if they are too long):**

**The April Revolution of 1960 consisted mainly of student protests against the corruption present in Syngman Rhee's government and fixed elections.  
**

**There was a demonstration in Masan in March that was put down by the police. Distrust increased greatly after the body of a student was found afterwards in the harbour and an inspection revealed that they had died from being shot with tear gas, rather than of drowning as the authorities had claimed.  
**

**Despite attempts to censor news of the incident, the story spread and the corruption in the government became evident. University students in Seoul also organized protests and their numbers quickly grew to over 100,000 as they were joined by people from other universities and high schools. They marched to the Blue House (the equivalent of the White House in America) and demanded Syngman Rhee's resignation. Despite being shot at, it soon became clear that the students outnumbered the police force and military, and the latter eventually refused to attack them.**


	5. Spy Plane

One morning in May, America switched on the television to get his regular dose of news, as boring as he thought the routine could be.

He stood in the centre of his living room, bowl of cereal in hand as a well-groomed old man dryly read out current events from a stack of paper. As he shoved a spoonful of frosted flakes into his mouth, he mentally cursed at the apparent lack of new stories.

He placed his breakfast down on a table and reached for the remote control, when one sentence caught his ears.

_"It has been reported by Mr Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, that a spy plane flying over their territory was shot down. The current fate of the pilot remains unknown..."  
_

"Oh god, no!" America yelled at the screen. _"I was really counting on this mission to succeed and now Russia probably knows everything I've been up to!" This is really bad..."_

He thought of the upcoming East-West summit and World Conference, and panicked a little more. Knowing Russia and his boss, they were bound to do whatever they could to make sure the story spread all around. He couldn't have that happen and realized that he would be required to think of a solution fast.

America slumped down on the couch and scratched his own head, before forcing himself to focus on one thing at a time.

Fortunately, it took only a few minutes for him to do so. The answer was a lot simpler than he had expected, especially when he thought of the way some of his own news networks tended to compete for popularity. He would send out his own reports to counter Russia's stories twofold and the other countries would thus be more likely to believe him instead.

America's plan seemed to work like a charm for the first couple of days. He was aware that many were somewhat distrustful of him, so he was surprised at the number of people who fell for his hasty cover-up. As if he would even want to conduct weather missions in the Soviet Union, in the first place...

The emphasis was on 'first couple of days', for Russia in turn decided to show photos of the spy plane and transcripts of the pilot's confessions at the next World Conference, proving America's alibi wrong and humiliating him in front of everybody.

After having to endure all the stares for an hour, America found that he couldn't take much more and rushed out of the meeting room in an attempt to escape. Once he was out in the corridor, he turned and punched the wall in anger.

"Damn it, Russia! You and the summit can go burn in hell!"

* * *

**In May of 1960, a U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Tricked into believing the pilot had died, the American media attempted to cover up the incident by claiming that the aircraft in fact belonged to NASA and was on a weather mission, among other things. However, Khrushchev soon admitted that the pilot Gary Powers, was in fact still alive and had confessed the truth to the Soviet authorities.**


	6. Shower

**Author's Note: This little oneshot was inspired by the movie Psycho and the effect I think it would have had on Alfred.**

* * *

_"Man, I never expected the nice guy to turn out to be a complete psycho. That was the creepiest movie I've seen in ages..."_

Alfred entered his bathroom, the sound of the flushing toilet ringing in his ears as he decided it was time for a nice long shower.

He removed his coat but paused halfway through unbuttoning his shirt, a frightening thought coming over him.

He imagined himself stepping into the stall, closing the curtain and turning on the taps, the deafening noise of rushing water rendering him unaware of potential assailants whom would creep in and attack him with whatever weapons they had until his blood was all over the floor.

The scenario reminded him all too much of a film he had just seen and the idea of upgrading the lock on his bathroom door suddenly seemed to be a much needed improvement. For the time being however, he decided that taking a bath would be a lot safer, so he went over to the tub and turned on the hot water, looking behind him once a minute to check for intruders.


	7. Fifty Stars

The first thing that Canada noticed when he arrived at America's place on the fourth of July, was the enormous flag draped over the front gate for all to see.

He dismissed it as just his brother being egotistical and tried to push his way through the gates, only to find that they wouldn't budge. He took a step back and inhaled deeply before trying a few more times, each time failing to get it open.

Five minutes went by and he gave up. He turned to look at his parked car by the kerb, considering getting in so he could drive off and skip his brother's birthday just this once, only for feelings of guilt to deter him from doing so.

He sighed and trudged back to where the gate was and leaned against the fence beside it, while studying the design of the flag in the corner of his eye. He counted the number of stars in his head and when he had reached the last one, he initially thought he had counted wrong.

A second look proved though that there were in fact fifty stars on his brother's flag. He momentarily found it a little excessive, until he remembered that each star represented one of America's states and the recent news of Hawaii being the latest addition.

"Pretty impressive, huh? I never thought I'd end up with fifty states!"

The unexpected sound of America's voice sent Canada jolting and he bumped his head against one of the metal bars of the gate.

"Where were you?" Canada asked him, turning around and rubbing the spot where it throbbed.

"Where was I? Well, I had to go and make the new design official. Sorry for keeping you waiting."

* * *

Canada later watched as America hung up the new flag on one of his living room walls and wondered if there was any end to the latter's patriotism. He also sincerely hoped that America wouldn't find a way to rub his large number of states in the other nations' faces during the next meeting.

"You're not going to have another one in the next few years, are you?"

"Nah, I think fifty is more than enough for me to keep track of."


	8. The Twist

The playing of Chubby Checker's 'The Twist' always seemed to work as an automatic trigger for America to begin dancing along, as Canada had come to observe over the past year and find odd. Right now was another one of those moments, as America twisted alone in the middle of the living room despite his brother staring at him in bewilderment.

While there was little denying that the song was catchy, Canada still could not fathom why anyone would want to dance in such a way. Perhaps it was just that it looked a little too provocative in his opinion, or the fact that he didn't think of himself as much of a dancer.

Either way, when America turned to him and asked him if he wanted to join in, he politely declined out of fear of potentially embarrassing himself.

"Suit yourself. You're always kind of boring anyway." America retorted as he continued to dance until the song ended.


	9. Split

Japan knew he wasn't the only one who noticed the steady decline in China and Russia's relationship. He needed only to observe the other Asians seated around the table as evidence to the fact.

A decade before, the two Communist countries had seemed to share a close bond and were united in their ideologies. Now they didn't even exchange a word with another, let alone bother to acknowledge the other's presence.

He tried to ask Taiwan and the South Korea what they knew, but neither of them replied, instead glaring at him as if the answer were meant to be obvious.

Japan was quick to excuse himself afterwards, realizing he would need to find out through other means.


	10. Cigars

**The United States' embargo on Cuba and CIA's apparent numerous assassination attempts on Fidel Castro are referenced here.**

* * *

Business for Cuba had declined over the past year and he just wasn't receiving as many visitors as before. The resulting decrease in his income disappointed him and he couldn't help but hold a slight feeling of disgust at America for making things difficult.

_"What does he have against me, that he's stopping trade with me? If there's anytime I'd gladly put up with spoiled rich folk, it's now!"  
_

His memory wandered back to slightly more prosperous times, when his place was a popular place for tourists and the atmosphere always seemed to be alive.

A sharply dressed and well groomed man with a suitcase walked by, whom Cuba initially believed to be a product of his vivid imagination, until the man called for attention and demanded to purchase a cigar.

"Hey, do you understand English?" The man asked impatiently in a clear American accent, while holding his hand out.

"Yes!" Cuba muttered hastily.

"I'd like a pack of cigars. Make it quick!"

Cuba fumbled for one of the little boxes laid out in his stall and held it out. The American quickly paid and took it, shoving it into his coat pocket before taking off, hissing to himself about how he had a plane to catch.

* * *

"Do you know what my Dad told me about the Prime Minister?"

Cuba overheard the politician's child chattering excitedly to their friend and listened in curiosity, despite the fact he wasn't usually interested in the conversations of children.

"He told me that the Americans tried to poison him with a cigar."

Cuba was skeptical. In the time he had known Mr Castro, he'd never heard of or witnessed any such assassination attempts against his boss. Well there was that one incident with the thallium, but he'd always thought a poisoned cigar was a little out of practice for most American intelligence agents.


	11. Soap Opera

England scrolled through channels on his television one night, disappointed at the lack of interesting programs. He went through a couple of cycles, turning the dial until he decided to settle for some program depicting people going about their daily lives.

He watched as the actors sat around a dining table, trying to imitate the struggles and concerns of ordinary citizens, though with a bit more drama.

The program wore on and he waited patiently for some action to hopefully spring up, but nothing much else happened besides a few heated family arguments.

A title card informed him that the next episode of Coronation Street would be broadcast the following week, before the credits rolled and he thought of the thirty minutes he wouldn't get back.


	12. First Family

**I think I've pretty much covered 1960 so far, which means I should be about one tenth through this story. **

**This chapter is supposed to have taken place sometime in early 1961.  
**

* * *

"You know, I kind of have a royal family too."

England was distracted from his argument with France over constitutional monarchies and turned to none other than America in rage. He glared at his former charge for a second as he quickly pondered to say.

"You know nothing about what you're saying, don't you?!"

"I'm serious."

"Stupid boy! You've never had to put up with a single person for decades. You just elect somebody else when you get tired of them, so what would you know about having a boss with absolute power?"

"England, I should remind you that your Queen isn't as powerful as you sometimes believe..." France whispered loudly.

"Hush, snail-eater! I didn't ask for your contribution."

As England shoved France's head away, America opened his briefcase and searched through a compartment filled with assorted newspaper photos. He found the one he was after and took it out carefully, placing it down on the table before him.

"See, England? The Kennedys, _my _first family!" He announced, bringing the older nation's attention once again to him.

England looked down at the happy people in the picture and chuckled in amusement.

"And what makes them so royal? Did your John overthrow the previous dynasty by force and proclaim himself King?"

"No way. That would have been illegal." America said calmly. "Plus he's a nice guy, so he would never resort to violence to become president."

"That...that's not what I meant!"

"They've got style and class. They're really rich too, and have I mentioned that him and his wife both come from great families? And their kids are the cutest things ever..."

England groaned in despair as he tried to shrug off America's praise of his first family. It seemed like there was just no way to deflate his former colony's ego at the moment.

_"If only something could happen that would bring him down to earth, I swear that he wouldn't be half as unbearable to listen to."_


	13. Defeat

America dropped the remote control when he heard the news on television. His mouth dropped open and he tried to utter a word, but he was unable to make any noise. His legs trembling, he slumped down on the couch and placed his head in his hands in defeat.

The smile of the Russian man shown briefly on the screen taunted him and he could just imagine what Russia himself was doing at the moment.

_"Have a good time trying to get a story out of your chimpanzee. I'm sure you both understand each other."_

He could already hear the Soviet nation's smug words in his head and resisted the urge to hit himself in the face.

"Not everything's lost, Alfred." He told himself firmly. "There's always the moon..."


	14. Absence

**When will America's humiliation end?**

* * *

One hundred members of the United Nations gathered in the conference room before the meeting was due to begin. The place was soon abuzz with conversations and arguments to the point that one had to shout to be heard.

England decided to be the one to announce the start of the meeting, for Germany appeared too depressed to do so, and was successful in getting the others to be quiet and slowly take their seats.

It didn't take long for many to feel as if something substantial was missing that day and heads were soon being scratched as to what it was.

"I can't figure out for the life of me what it is, though I wish I could..." England mused to himself.

"I feel happy and relieved, but I don't know why..." Russia said cheerfully.

* * *

America lay stretched out on his couch, wearing only a t-shirt and jeans, staring up at the ceiling and busy stuffing sweets into his mouth. It was the first time in over a decade that he didn't care about looking dishevelled and being underdressed, for he couldn't take his mind off the his failed Bay of Pigs invasion.

Out of fear of being scrutinized by those he knew, he had intentionally chosen not to attend the scheduled world conference and wondered if he could simply explain his absence as him having forgotten the date.


	15. General

An unpleasant feeling had grown in Yong Soo's chest when he met General Park. He'd attributed it at the time to the stress of going through two bosses in a short time, but now it was clear it had been something else entirely.

General Park had quite a few daunting plans in mind. Building a closer relationship with Japan and the United States were among these, and Yong Soo soon found that he was undergoing mandatory lessons in Japanese and English. English proved to be the harder of the two with it's tricky pronunciations, though he was more anxious about having to once again do close business with Japan.

What made things difficult for him in the long term though was the time that he learned he was being closely monitored by intelligence agents.

Almost everywhere he went, he felt as if he were being watched and the feeling made him increasingly self conscious of whatever he did. He found himself thinking things through at great length before he said anything to anyone.

One afternoon, he had sought out a quiet muddy spot near the bank of the Han River and threw a small rock into the water out of boredom.

_"Life here in the city is too busy, and there isn't any privacy." _He thought to himself as ripples expanded before him. _"Maybe I should run away to the countryside, where there aren't as many people and those government agents hopefully can't find me."_

* * *

**General Park Chung-hee had a long history in the military before he became the third president of South Korea. While he was officially elected in 1963, he had a significant presence in 1961 and 1962 with his Intelligence Agency and his position as Lieutenant General.  
**

**It seems different generations in Korea have contrasting opinions on him today, with the older generation apparently viewing him in a slightly more positive light.**


	16. Advice

Italy arrived late for the EC meeting and ran into the elevator just as the doors began to close. He fumbled for the right floor button to press before pausing to adjust his tie and shirt collar in the wall mirror.

The elevator took him to his destination and he dashed out of the open doors, turning into the hallway on the right until he was sure he'd reached the right place.

Sure enough, he looked inside and saw the familiar faces of France, Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands. The four turned to look at him impatiently and he excused himself before entering quietly and taking a seat.

"Well now that Italy is here, I think it is about time we begin our topic of discussion." France spoke hurriedly, shifting his eyes towards Germany, who quickly recognized the cue.

Germany cleared his throat before picking up a neat stack of pages and preparing to read from them, when Italy spied Belgium sitting alone in a corner and facing away from the others. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed when he'd first come in and felt he had to bring it up with the others.

"Germany, one moment!" He interrupted the taller nation mid sentence. "I believe you've left out Belgium!"

Luxembourg and Germany both jumped in response, while France smirked sheepishly and Netherlands simply reached for another cigarette to light.

Belgium's reaction to the fuss was delayed but she turned around all the same and stared straight at Italy.

"Never mind, you can all start without me. I'll just listen."

She spun back around afterwards, leaving the five men to form their own conclusions. Netherlands blew a stream of smoke from his lips.

"I wouldn't talk her too much now, if I were any of you. She's still suffering angst over her lost colonies."

Italy glumly nodded in understanding.


	17. Wall

Prussia didn't think his situation could get any more unfair than this. The order to build a wall through his place had now been made final despite his protests and bargaining. Work was starting at the one spot where he could safely use to travel to West's side, though he guessed it was all part of the plan.

He'd thought more than a few times about how simple it would be to charge through while the structure was still being built, but all sorts of issues were holding him back. If he were to leave like many of the humans he'd seen flee, what would happen to him and the ones left behind? It was unlikely that he'd join with his brother again anytime soon but even if he did, what would happen to him? Now that the very thing he once represented had been dissolved for over a decade, would it mean that he would gradually fade away if the two of them were ever reunited?

The majority of the wall was completed as the months went by and there was the predictable uproar and sense of defeat. Once it had worn off however, Prussia found himself often gazing at it with a longing to know how life was on the opposite side.

One late afternoon, he took a detour in an attempt to hide after he'd stolen a pack of cigarettes from a small shop. He stopped when he grew tired and slumped down near a vacant section of the wall.

Seeing that there was nobody else around for yards, he opened his package and drew out one of the coveted white sticks with a orange tip.

He allowed himself a quick smoke before dropping the scorched cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his shoe. As he prepared to leave his spot, he saw something bright and yellow resting atop the wall just inches from his head. He reached for it and grabbed the object, realizing it was none other than the exotic fruit known as a banana.

He couldn't believe his luck and peeled back the tough skin before biting into the soft flesh inside.

* * *

**A/N: The last sentence will probably sound wrong to some people but I couldn't think of any other way to write it. Anyway, I haven't updated this story and I promise I'll also try to continue 'Around the World' as soon as possible.  
**


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